Improved gasoline locomotive head-light



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JOHN B. TERRY, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT.

Letters Patent No. 72,697, dated December 24, 1867.

IMPROVED GASOLINE LOGOMOTIVE HEAD-LIGHT.

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be itknown that I, JOHN B. Team, of Hartford, in the county of Hartford,and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Locomotive Head-Lights; and I hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention consists essentially of an improved head-light or lanternfor a locomotive, composed of a vessel for holding gasoline or otherlight hydrocarbon liquid, provided with the necessary burner or pipe forthe escape of the gas, combined with an internal or external heater tovaporize such fluid so as to produce the requisite gas, the heat beingsupplied from the locomotive-boiler. It also consists in an improvedcombination of devices for controlling the supply of-the heating-agent,so as to avoid over-heating the fluid in the generatingvessel, and inthe means employed to prevent the swash or; agitatio-riof the fluidwithin the vessel, was to insure the. steadiness of the flame or light.These and other features ot 'my invention will be readily understood byreference to the accompanying drawings, in which- I Figure 1 is alongitudinal vertical section of an apparatus constructed in accordancewith my invention, and

Figure 2 is a transverse'vertical section of the same on the line a: y.

The vessel A, which contains the gasoline or other light hydrocarbonfluid, is of cylindrical or other suitable form. It is provided with aburner, a, opened and closed by means of cock 6, and with a-supply-pipe,through which the liquid is poured into the vessel. Near the end of thevessel, which is adjoining the locomotive-boiler, there is a flexible orelastic metallic partition, 0, which divides the vessel into twochambers. In this end of the vessel, opening into the. smaller chamber,the mouth of a pipe, 13, is introduced, which communicates with theboiler of the engine, theste'am bein'gcut oil from or admitted to thesmaller chamber by means of a stopcock, d, on the pipe B. A coil oftubing, h, is placed within the larger chamber, which contains thehydrocarbon liquid. One end of this coil opens into the smaller chamberat It, through the partition 0, while the other open end, if, passesentirely out from thcvessel A. The steam, when admitted through the pipeB, fills the smaller chamber, and then, entering the mouth it,circulates through the coil, until, returning, it is discharged into theopen air from the end k In its course through the coil it heatsthoroughly and quickly the gasoline or other fluid which surrounds thecoil. This fluid becomes at once volatilized and generates the requisitequantity of gas, which passes from the geneiator to the burner a, whereit is consumed. Whenever it is desired to arrest the generation of gas,the stop-cock d is turned so as to cut oil the steam from the generator.The supply of heat thus ceasing, the liquid'in the vessel of coursebecomes cool and comparatively non-volatile, and the gas ceases to begenerated. It may, however, happen that during the time the light isburning, the heat communicated from the steam to the-gasoline will be attimes so great as to decompose or volatilize the fluid with too greatrapidity, thus creating a dangerous pressure in the vessel. To obviatethis difliculty, and at the same time toaillow suflibient heat to enterthe coil in order to volatilize the fluid to the proper degree, I attachto the flexible diaphragm or partition 0, a valve or stopper, m, the endof which is shaped so as to fi't the mouth of the tube B, which extendssome little distance into the smaller or steam-chamber of the vessel.When the partition 0 is in its normal position the stopper is somedistance from the mouth of the steam-pipe B, allowing the steam tofreely enter the chamber and circulate through the coil. When, however,the heat becomes excessive,

and the gas is generated froin the gasoline'faster than it is consumedat the burner, the pressure induced by,

the expansion-of the volatilized fluid forces the metal diaphragm orpartition'outwardly-and carries the stopperor valve m into the mouth ofthe steam-pipe, which is thuswholly or partially closed, according tothe degree of pressure in the vessel. By this means the gasoline orother fluid is held at an even temperature, and its excessive heating isavoideda Y It will be understood that, instead of heating the fluid bymeans of a coil within the generating-chamb'er the vessel may bejacketed, steam being admitted, as before, from the boiler into thecasing or envelope of the vessel when the gas is to :be generated. Sofar as this feature of my invention is concerned, it is of courseimmaterial whether the heat is applied internally or externally, so longas the gas-generating fluid canbe brought to the desired degree of heatwhenever it is required In or er to prevent the liquid from beingagitated or disturbed to any extent by the motion of the locomo tive, Ipack the interior of the generating-chamber with shavings, known asExcelsior, such as are used in bedding, or with a material theequivalent of the same, which, \vhilenot interfering in the least withthe generation of gas, will prevent the swash or agitation of the liqid,which, unless stopped, would cause the flickering and unsteadiness, ifnot the total extinguishment, of the light.

Having now described my invention, and the manner in which the same isor maybe carried into effect, what I claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is- L 1. A locomotive head-light or lantern, consistingot' tlle combination of a vessel to hold the gasoline or other similarhydrocarbon liquid with an internal or external heater to vaporize suchliquid for the direct production therefrom of illuminating-gas, as setforth.

2. The combination, with a hydrocarbon liquid-holding vessel, providedwith one or more burners, of an internal coil or surrounding jacket,admitting steam froin the locomotive-boiler to heat the liquid withinthe vessel, as shown and described.

3- The combination, with the hydrocarbon vessel, of an elastic diaphragmand stopper or valve, operating in connection with the steam-admissionpipe, substantially as described, so as to regulate the flow of steamand pressure in the vessel, as set forth. I

4. In an apparatus, substantially as described, the combination, withthe hydrocarbon vessel, of wood shaving i or their equivalent, toprevent the swash 0r agitation of the liquid within the vessel,substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification beforetwo subscribing witnesses.

J. B. TERRY.

Witnesses:

A. POLLOK, M. BAILEY.

